Sony announces wireless speaker docks

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Sony has announced a number of new docks, aimed at people who don't own Sony products. The iPhone, iPod and iPad capable docks are designed to be acoustically precise and stylish as well as powerful.

Sony claims that its S-Master Digital Amplifier and DMC technology allow you to "fill a room" with delightful sound. Unless you like Florence + The Machine, where it promises to fill the room with hateful noise. Even so, the room will still be full of sound, and that's impressive from such small speaker docks.

Each of these new docks can accept wireless music too, either via Air Play and Bluetooth. So no matter what phone or MP3 player you have, it's quite likely you'll be able to send music to these docks, without the hassle of cables. The RDP-XA900iP and RDP-XA700iP both have Airplay, but only the 900 has Bluetooth. They are also single-box 2.1 channel units - if such a thing is possible. The RDP-X280iP and RDP-X200iP don't have Airplay, but both have Bluetooth built-in. They are two-way speaker systems, rather than having an integrated subwoofer.

The flagship RDP-XA900iP has 200 Watts of power at its disposal. It's finished in black fabric that doesn't impede sound, and accented with some attractive silver trim to give it the look of a device that's at place in any room, no matter how cool. The RDP-XA700iP is a lot less powerful, at 60 Watts, but it still has the S-Master amp and DMC for powerful, but controlled bass.

The X280 and X200 both offer 40 Watts of power, more than enough for a smaller room. The X280 also has a built-in battery, which can manage up to 6 hours of music on a single charge. All these docks are available from May 2012.